Snipes wants bail to appeal tax conviction

Hollywood tax convicted Wesley Snipes is preparing to appeal his conviction,
arguing that the trial judge – who sentenced him to three years in prison –
erred in several ways before and after the case.

Snipes’ attorneys plans to argue before the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals
and are applying for bail so that he may appeal his conviction. But if the
appeal should fail, he will be compelled to surrender to prison authorities on
June 3.

His lawyers need to prove their 45-year-old client is not a flight risk and
that he has substantial issues to raise.

They are set to argue that District Judge Willam Hodges gave poor
instructions to the jury, which should have granted Snipes an expanded pre-trial
hearing since his lawyers requested that proceedings be moved.

However prosecutors said that Snipes had no major issues to raise and that he
has demonstrated that he could flee since he told the probation office he had
less that $10,000 in liquid assets and yet paid £5m in back taxes at his
sentencing.

Prosecutor Robert O’Neill argued that Snipes’ ‘apparent lack of candor about
his assets, combined with trial evidence that he has transferred millions of
dollars offshore, show some risk of flight.’